Saturday, August 21, 2010

I read this article on Ayuervedic Cleansing this month in Whole Living magazine. I was really interested in Ayurveda a few years back because I have always struggled with balance in my daily life. I found out from the little quiz in the article that I have am Pitta Dosha, which turns out to be pretty accurate from the rest of the research I have done the past few weeks on Ayuerdeda. So I am trying this weekend detox right now to try and get all my energy in balance or chakras aligned or whatever. But seriously, so far it feels pretty cleansing. My regimen is loosely taken from the article but I am also improvising as I see fit. If I were actually getting up before the sun rose I'm sure I would get even more out of it. Check out the regimen if you are interested and below is a really nice recipe for Kitchari (the cleansing mung bean mono-diet). It is a result of my experimentation with compiling multiple recipes. Ans, it's supposed to be balancing for all the Doshas.

Kitchari Recipe

This is a mung dal kitchari, which balances all three doshas. It is particularly beneficial for the stomach, lungs, liver, and large intestine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine mung beans are also revered for their detoxification properties. This recipe makes 4-5 servings.

1 cup yellow mung dal (split or whole)

1 cup basmati rice

5-6 cups water

3 tbsp ghee (purified butter)

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 pinch asafoetida (a spice also called hing—available at Indian groceries)

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 whole cloves

1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon bark

4-5 crushed cardamom pods

10 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

3 tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp salt

Optional: 1 cup diced vegetables like squash, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, etc. It is best to use in season veggies.

Wash the mung dal and rice until water is clear. Soaking the dal for a few hours or overnight helps with digestibility.

Boil 5-6 cups water (depending on if you want wetter or drier Kitchari) and add rice and beans. Boil for roughly 20-30 minutes stirring frequently. Add veggies to rice and beans after about 15 minutes.

While boiling rice and beans, heat a large saucepan on medium heat and add the ghee, cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns and bay leaves. Stir for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the coconut and ginger, then the turmeric and salt. Stir until lightly browned.

Add to rice, bean and veggie mixture and mix together very well. Enjoy slowly and outdoors, if possible.